How can Afghanistan go to the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup?

Afghanistan reputation in international cricket is growing every day, and its players are doing a fantastic job of making their ardent fans happy.

In the ODI World Cup 2023, all ten countries have an opportunity to advance to the semi-finals after 30 games. Afghanistan has the situation under control because of their incredible results in the main event so far, but there are teams in the bottom half of the standings that have just mathematical odds of making it to the semi-finals.

Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team has recovered well from their convincing losses to Bangladesh and India to begin the campaign, defeating England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka with absolute ease. With three victories (six points) from their current six games, the ‘Blue Tigers’ are ranked fifth in the points standings. They can end with a maximum of 12 points after their final three games. Only four other clubs can finish with 12 points as things stand. India has already scored twelve points, and the other teams who can do so are South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.

Afghanistan still has games remaining against South Africa (November 10), Australia (November 7) and the Netherlands (November 3). Australia, with eight points from six games, may finish with 12 points if they win all of their remaining matches in the ODI World Cup, with the exception of the match against Afghanistan. Afghanistan will finish on 12 if they win all of their remaining games, and the team with the higher net run-rate (NRR) advances. At the moment, Afghanistan’s NRR is -0.718 while Australia’s is +0.970.

With three games remaining against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and South Africa, New Zealand has eight points from six games as well. They do, however, have a significantly higher NRR (+1.232) than countries like Afghanistan and Australia.